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Arranged Marriage
An Arranged Marriage is the idea that someone is going to choose your spouse for you. The way an Arranged Marriage is treated by the plot will be dependent on place and time. For most of human history, arranged marriages were the norm because "marriage" was less about the union of two souls and more about the union of two families. The rise of the "Marry for Love" ideal didn't really start in Western culture until the 16th century, and there are places on Earth where it still hasn't. Additionally, the "Marriage Before Romance" trope often went hand-in-hand with arranged marriages. While the priority is, again, the union of two families, that union is dependent on the stability and comfort of the two people getting married, so the two families would try their best to come up with a Perfectly Arranged Marriage. However, the one thing that is almost always present in an arranged marriage is tension. Most people don't really want to marry a total stranger (much less have sex with them), and if that total stranger turns out to be a complete rogue and a cad, it may be necessary for the heroes to spring into action and rescue the hapless member of their group who is being forced to walk down the aisle. (Of course, being Big Damn Heroes, they'll have to do so in the most overblown and dramatic way possible.) Sometimes, the person in the arranged marriage takes matters into their own hands and becomes a Runaway Fiancé. The "aggrieved" party may claim Breach of Promise of Marriage in response, as arranged marriages tend to be viewed as legally binding commitments by those who initiate it. Alternately, there's a Love Triangle. The character of the suitor is less likely to be important in those cases, but they generally won't look kindly on the outsider's interference. Conversely, an Arranged Marriage can be used to lock the hero and heroine together so that their disputes can not end with one of them washing their hands of the other. A common tactic is for the daughter of a wealthy but common family to be matched with the Impoverished Patrician, for his title: Nobility Marries Money. Examples *Victor was engaged to Victoria Everglot by their parents, because she's the daughter of a poor nobleman and he's the son of a nouveau riche fishmonger. It's an ideal match in that respect, but they both feel nervous about whether they're going to get along. As it turns out, it's a Perfectly Arranged Marriage and they're attracted from the first meeting. Of course, he then runs out of the wedding rehearsal in a wretched fit of anxiety, and accidentally gets engaged to a zombie, but it works out eventually. *The Sultan desperately tries to get Jasmine to marry. However he does give her the option of choosing her husband herself and refuses to choose anyone she hates. He even allows her to marry Aladdin, a commoner. *Pocahontas: Kocoum asks for Pocahontas' hand and her father betroths her to him. It doesn't go through since Kocoum is later shot to death by Thomas. *Sleeping Beauty had an Arranged Marriage between Princess Aurora and Prince Philip from different kingdoms. In contrast to the prevailing modern view of Arranged Marriages as loveless, Aurora falls in love with Philip before she discovers that he's her betrothed husband, making the Arranged Marriage one of true love. The main drama comes from Aurora telling Flora, Fauna and Merryweather that she's fallen in love with Phillip and Phillip telling his father that he's fallen in love with Aurora. In both cases, however, neither of them know who it is that they've fallen in love with, leaving all adult parties to believe that they've fallen in love with a peasant. *Prince Derek and Princess Odette are betrothed as children by their parents, and forced to spend every summer together. This leads to a musical montage of them growing up hating each other, until one summer (having grown up), they realize that they've actually fallen in love. *Nobuyuki Sugou was in an arranged marriage with Asuna Yuuki in order to inherit her father's company. However, he was extremely deranged, sadistic and a psychopathic god-wannabe who viewed his rival Akihiko Kayaba as someone who had claimed Godhood with his virtual game. So he planned on becoming the God of his own Virtual Reality game, and arranged to have Asuna's mind be kidnapped while escaping from Kayaba's game and imprisoned in his own game(Which he put his own mind in) where she would marry him and become his queen. However, Asuna had already fallen in love with fellow gamer Kirito, so Sugou viewed Kirito as a rival and planned to kill him, while torturing and raping Asuna in order to break her into marrying her. *Disenchantment: It's first two episodes focus on Princess Bean trying to escape an arranged marriage with the Prince of Bentwood, a handsome, but mentally handicapped man who accidentally stabs himself on a throne made of swords while trying to recover the ring when Bean said "No" during the vows. But Bentwood's King and Queen reveal they have another son, a sexist and perverted man. However, Bean and her friends are able to call of the wedding by tricking the perverted prince into drinking a potion that turns him into a pig. * The Lion King: As children, Simba and Nala both learned they are betrothed, much to their disgust. However, when they grow up and reunite, after years of separation, Simba and Nala fall in love and marry in the end. *''Brave'': The firstborn sons of the three lords compete in the Highland Games to win Merida's hand in marriage. Merida does not want to be married right now and wants her freedom so she actively sabotages their chances by entering the archery contest (As she was "the firstborn of a Lord", she was technically perfectly allowed to compete). And at the end of the movie, the three sons reveal they weren't exactly thrilled either at the idea of getting married just yet, only keeping quiet out of loyalty or respect for their fathers. *''Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper'': Princess Anneliese is arranged to marry King Dominick, the ruler of neighboring kingdom in order to save her kingdom from going bankrupt despite being in love with her tutor, Julian. Gallery Jasmine & her father.jpg|Jasmine being arranged to marry before her 15th birthday, by not only her father, the Sultan, but also by the royal law. Odette & Derek.jpg|Odette and Derek being arranged by their parents to marry when they're older. Pocahontas & Kocoum.jpg|Pocahontas being arranged to marry Koccoum. V & V.jpg|Victor Van Dort & Victoria Everglot arranged to marry by their parents, as Victor's family will be raised in the social and Victoria's family wealth will be restored. Young Prince Phillip with Baby Aurora.jpg|Aurora and Phillip arranged to be married when they're old enough, in order to unite their two kingdoms. Simba & Nala.jpg|Simba and Nala learning they are betrothed, much to their disgust. Brave-banner-no-wait-says-merida.jpg|Merida arranged to have three suitors compete in Highland Games and win her hand in marriage. Princess and Pauper-Anneliese Arranged Marriage.jpg|Princess Anneliese being arranged to marry King Dominick in order to save her kingdom from going bankrupt. Category:About Heroes Category:Conflicts